Another letter from Mom to her aunt Sister Amabilis …

Mom was 15 years old at the time. Sister Amabilis (aka Aunt Marguerite) was teaching first graders in the Hartford, Connecticut, area.

Here’s the news (plus a poem) Mom sent on that July day in 1945:

Dear Marguerite,

We had a wonderful party on the Fourth of July. Joe was the real instigator and Grandma would do anything for him. There were hot dogs and cake, soda and watermelon. There were sack and two-legged races in which even the grown-ups participated.

May was going to feed Joe Saturday when she spied a rat in the bin. She called Pip but the rodent disappeared in a jiffy.

Sparky is gone. Since both dogs are too excitable when together, Pip had to sell Spark because it makes Grandma nervous. Everyone misses him. I wrote a poem in honor of him. Of course it’s exaggerated.

Please write. God bless you.

Your loving niece, Joan

Here is when I always pause to encourage any relatives who can clarify the specifics of this story to please chime in; I’ll gladly adjust the text accordingly. For example, which of the many Joes in the family instigated the party? Best I can tell, Mom had an uncle Joe and at least two cousin Joes, both born in 1935. (Her maternal grandfather, Joseph Malachy Regan, had passed away in 1941.) With all due respect, I have a sneaking suspicion the Joe who may (or may not) have been fed that day … was a horse!

Here’s the promised poem:

Dedication to “Sparky”

There once were meadows
rich with quail
In early fall;
Together we would take
the trail
And find them all.
The autumn fields oft’
felt the tread
Of hunters bred.

There once were marshes
filled with duck
We knew them well.
My aim was often left
to luck
And yet they fell;
And, barking, you retrieved
the game
Though you were lame.

There once were valleys
where you ran
And where I slept;
We two, in mem’ry, dog and man –
Our faith is kept.
Alone, I feel it is the end;
Goodbye, old friend.

~ Joan Cassidy ~ July 1945 (age 15)

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“Dedication to Sparky” ©1945 Joan Cassidy. All rights reserved.

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